# Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)

> Coast redwood, Sequoia sempervirens: its height and zones, when it sheds pollen and bears cones, how fast it grows, and the natives we grow for the same ground.

Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/species/coast-redwood/

![Tall coast redwood trunks rising through sunlit old-growth forest, with ferns and shrubs at their feet](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/species/coast-redwood-1000.jpg?v=b2356aed "Coast redwoods in Redwood National and State Parks, California, on June 24, 2024. The oldest known living one is about 2,510 years old.")
*Photo: Shawn Miller, Library of Congress, [CC0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AGrove_of_redwood_trees_in_Redwood_National_and_State_Parks%2C_June_24%2C_2024.jpg))*

Large tree, 60 to 200 feet where planted, zones 7 to 10; full sun, part shade or shade; average or wet ground.

We do not grow coast redwood, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.

## At a glance

| Fact | Coast Redwood |
| --- | --- |
| Other names | Redwood, California redwood, coastal redwood, Humboldt redwood, coastal sequoia |
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 60 to 200 where planted; up to 381 in its native stands |
| Spread, feet | Up to 75 |
| Zones | 7 to 10 |
| Sun | Full sun, part shade or shade |
| Soil moisture | Average or wet ground |
| Growth | Fast |
| Leaves | Evergreen |
| Traits | Wildlife value, winter interest, erosion control |
| Pollen | November to March |
| Fruit | Cones, September to December |
| First crop | 5 to 15 years |
| Pollination | One tree bears alone. Each tree carries both male and female cones. Seed from a tree's own pollen sets as well as crossed seed, though its seedlings grow less well. |
| Lifespan | Can live 2,510 years, and the oldest dated one reached 2,267. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Floodplain forests, stream banks, rich moist slopes and the coast |
| Native in | 2 states |

Coast redwood is native in 2 states: [California](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CA) and [Oregon](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OR). The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America.

## What our tools say

- [How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md?species=coast-redwood): the growth estimator
- [Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=coast-redwood): the planting-site check
- [How far from a house, wires and a septic field](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=coast-redwood&near=house,septic,pavement,wires,boundary,tree): the planting-distance tool
- [What grows with it in the wild and in a yard](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=coast-redwood): the companion species tool
- [When to plant it where you live](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=coast-redwood): the planting-window tool
- [When it sheds pollen and bears cones, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=coast-redwood): the bloom and fruit calendar
- [How to sow its seed, with dates for your place](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=coast-redwood): the seed sowing planner
- [How many to plant for a crop of seed](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=coast-redwood:1): the pollination planner
- [Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/transplant/index.html.md?species=coast-redwood): the transplant planner
- [How old one is, from its trunk](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-age/index.html.md?species=coast-redwood): the tree age calculator
- [How a big one scores against the champion trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/big-tree/index.html.md?species=coast-redwood): the big-tree measurer

## For the same ground, we grow

- [Peachleaf Willow](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/peachleaf-willow/index.html.md) (*Salix amygdaloides*): medium tree, 35 to 60 feet, zones 2 to 8. Shares floodplain forests and stream banks in the wild.
- [Chokecherry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/chokecherry/index.html.md) (*Prunus virginiana*): small tree, 20 to 30 feet, zones 2 to 10. Shares stream banks in the wild.
- [More natives for this ground in the tree finder](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-finder/index.html.md?size=large-tree&sun=full&moisture=average)
- [Every companion of coast redwood in the companion species tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=coast-redwood)

## Read from

Its figures come from Silvics of North America, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, NC State Extension, the Missouri Botanical Garden, Oregon State University, Cal Poly's SelecTree, Calscape, the Wildflower Center, the Gymnosperm Database, the City of Seattle, Ecological Monographs and Oregon State University Extension.